iPad as a writing/research tool

[DenVogel]

DenVogel,

Thanks so much for developing your app! I have been using it since the day it appeared in the store and I love it, but I didn't realise you were here to thank. I intend to write a review soon, but have been waiting in the hope of a solution to the one problem I have found- I can't export. I thought maybe it was a bug, but since no-one here has mentioned it, maybe there is a different reason?

Anyway, thanks so much for a super app. I have been waiting for something like this, and I love how simple it is to use,

thanks,

Helen.

Thanks for the kind words Helen. Export is supported. There is a popover with options to Mail or Export to iTunes.

Feel free to contact me directly if you need further assistance.

[DenVogel]

Index card is a great app. Forget the discount codes, it's worth the full price! I actually bought it before seeing this thread and have been very pleased with it. Now add a binder like hierarchy and spiff up the word processor a little and it will essentially be scrivener lite! Keith, maybe you could collaborate? I thought not. One can dream though. Anyways, thanks for the index card App, it's getting heavy use.

Thank you. Glad you're getting good use from it. Their are several enhancements to Index Card in the pipeline. Maybe I should break this topic out as its own thread.

[druid]

Maybe I should break this topic out as its own thread.

Suit yourself, but I don't see any advantage in isolation from the general topic. We're trying to verify that the iPad is not just a toy and entertainment device, but a genuine writer's tool. And Index Card clearly makes that case!

[Cjmiltko]

DenVogel,

I just bought a copy and will post a review here soon. No need for a promo code, since the current price is only $1.99.

Index Card looks like a very useful writing app, and thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Druid

Thanks for the purchase. I look forward to getting your feedback. I do have some enhancements already in the works, but I'd like to hear the initial input before I share.

I don't want to hijack this thread. I guess Keith will let me know if I need to start a new topic, or take the discussion elsewhere.

Thanks.

I noticed that the price went up to 2.99

Something feels dirty about it. I thought KB's rant was nearly nothing more than venting that iPad development isn't just porting his code and I sensed some frustration that he was venting likely because he's pushing 2.0 for the NaNoWriMo which left him in the position unable to sit down and work out the iPad version. I didn't think that the venting was interpreted as never.

Perhaps I just don't see how you weren't trying to write scrivener for iPad before he did.

I'm not kicking any sand, but speaking my mind on how it looks to me.

For one thing, as I type on my iPad, I was trying to find a nice way to port work back and forth from the Mac to this for little work and review. Problem on my side is that I'm one of those devonthink-scrivener hybrids.

For me, it makes sense to wait until scrivener or dt to go releases on the iPad because bridging and synching complicated enough for me now. I don't need to introduce a new wheel BUT I do like the index card approach and keep looking at the index card app

I don't know... Something doesn't seem right here

[druid]

Well, I tried to be polite about it, but personally I would have preferred that we write about Index Card in this thread, where we (me and many others) have reviewed and commented upon many iPad apps as they have evolved. To "break out" a topic devoted solely to one app feels like self-promotion or advertising, which is not the purpose of our forum.

I've been too busy lately to test Index Card. Tonight I downloaded the update, which is free. I'm sorry to hear that the purchase price has gone up. When I do review it, that will be here, and I'll compare it to other outlining and writing apps for the iPad.

[DenVogel]

I noticed that the price went up to 2.99

Something feels dirty about it. I thought KB's rant was nearly nothing more than venting that iPad development isn't just porting his code and I sensed some frustration that he was venting likely because he's pushing 2.0 for the NaNoWriMo which left him in the position unable to sit down and work out the iPad version. I didn't think that the venting was interpreted as never.

Perhaps I just don't see how you weren't trying to write scrivener for iPad before he did.

I'm not kicking any sand, but speaking my mind on how it looks to me.

For one thing, as I type on my iPad, I was trying to find a nice way to port work back and forth from the Mac to this for little work and review. Problem on my side is that I'm one of those devonthink-scrivener hybrids.

For me, it makes sense to wait until scrivener or dt to go releases on the iPad because bridging and synching complicated enough for me now. I don't need to introduce a new wheel BUT I do like the index card approach and keep looking at the index card app

I don't know... Something doesn't seem right here

$1.99 was an introductory price. Very common for iPhone and iPad apps. I continue to invest a lot of time and money to improve the app, so I think it will continue to be worth more to people. It is still much less expensive than many popular iPad writing apps. Those who are early adopters will get the benefit of new features as free updates.

I have been very up front that that I wish there was a Scrivener for iPad, and that this app is inspired by the Mac OS X app. So I'm a little offended by the "dirty" comment.

[DenVogel]

Well, I tried to be polite about it, but personally I would have preferred that we write about Index Card in this thread, where we (me and many others) have reviewed and commented upon many iPad apps as they have evolved. To "break out" a topic devoted solely to one app feels like self-promotion or advertising, which is not the purpose of our forum.

What is there to be impolite about?

I started a separate topic on Index Card because I wanted to be able to make people aware of what was going on, and give them an area to provide feedback if they choose to, without high-jacking this thread. It seemed like the polite thing to do, and consistent with what the moderators have done for other application specific discussions.

[druid]

I started a separate topic on Index Card because I wanted to be able to make people aware of what was going on, and give them an area to provide feedback if they choose to, without high-jacking this thread. It seemed like the polite thing to do, and consistent with what the moderators have done for other application specific discussions.

You keep using the term "highjacking" but that's what you have done. You want your product to stand out from the long list of other iPad writing apps, and for the focus to be on your app, instead of the iPad itself as a writing medium. That does highjack the idea of this thread, for your benefit. And I see that as advertising or self-promotion. You could have started a forum on your product site, but this one already has 4,659 readers.

As for "application specific discussions," most of them are just advice and comments to fellow users on generic topics like reference managers, word processors, and text databases. The thread on Aeon Timeline is a rare exception; the developer was a prior contributor to the forum and carefully introduced the idea of beta-testing to readers. First time we heard from you was on a sales call.

[DenVogel]

First time we heard from you was on a sales call.

Your statement simply is not true. I have not contributed frequently, but have been a member of this forum since 2007.

I really don't get the hostility. You seemed happy to discuss Index Card in your earlier posts. You're upset now because there's discussion of it outside the thread you started?

The description of this forum is "Talk about any software you want. Recommend useful programs or discuss the competition (politely to all, please)." I've been a Scrivener user for years. I'm working on an app to meet a need for myself on the iPad, and hopefully it's useful to others as well.

That's it. No grand design, and certainly nothing worth getting upset over. The last thing I want to do is irritate Keith or constructive members of the community.

[druid]

We both joined in 2007, but I've been more active here and have a broader perspective on the forum's history and themes. I'm not a developer, just a long-time writer and editor.

I'm neither hostile or upset, and my posts are mostly constructive. When I get the time to review IC, I'll give it a fair shot. As for your separate thread, as I said earlier, suit yourself.

[AmberV]

Okay folks, let's try to ease back a bit on the pejorative language and chest puffing.

Druid, I really appreciate all of the work you've put into this thread, both offline and online. It's turned out to be a great resource for anyone who would like to use their iPad for literary pursuits, and I think it's great that we have a topic here for discussing it. However I don't think it is reasonable, or really even practical, to suggest to everyone that they refrain from creating new topics about specific applications they wish to discuss. If someone has something new they wish to say, they should be able to do so in a new thread. This is not only in the spirit of good discussion, but in the spirit of the web, which encourages pockets of information linked together, rather than single monolithic resources. If you feel that a new thread on the forum might contain some good information in regards to this thread, I would encourage you to hyperlink from this thread to the new one, rather than try to bring the new thread's participants all into one single thread. A hyperlink means this thread has an abundance of information without overwhelming itself, and it means threads stay more tidy and topical rather than long and drifting (though we certainly do seem to like those around here! )

DenVogel has created a fine application, and you may have noticed that Keith has even offered to help get the two programs working better together. I don't think that there is anything wrong with starting a new thread for an application that might very well have a good relationship with Scrivener going forward. Its mention in this thread has served its purpose of illuminating another tool for writing on the iPad. Discussing the nitty gritty of that application, its pricing structure, and whether or not DenVogel is sincere, really has nothing to do with whether or not the iPad is a good tool for writers. I don't think we need to be discussing that at all, frankly, but I really don't see why it all needs to be in one single mammoth thread, either.

[druid]

OK, 'nuff said.

Thanks to everyone for their previous contributions.

Time to move on.

[AmberV]

Like I said, I think this thread serves an excellent purpose, and I would hope that it continues onward from this point in its original spirit. I don't think hyperlinking and allowing information to distribute itself would harm that. If you wish to cease shepherding it, that is of course up to you, but I hope it can continue nonetheless.

[Prion]

druid
this thread served a useful purpose and attracted people's attention to the utility of the iPd beyond media consumption. But like Amber said, it became a little convoluted so starting new threads for well-defined new topics would help keep the information particles in a digestible size for people joining now as well as old-timers in this thread.
Thanks
P

[monkquixote]

Has Writer for iPad already been reviewed on this thread?

http://www.informationarchitects.jp/en/writer-for-ipad/

I own neither an iPad nor any app, but when I do - I am hoping to return to a lovely table on this thread that tells me WHICH ONE TO BUY.

The internet has proved to be a major pain in the backside for people who hate comparison shopping. It's much easier when one of my author heroes says 'ooh, I like using jellyfish to brush my teeth with', because that way, well, it just is, ok?